The List
by Daughter of Lestrange
Summary: Sirius Black is babysitting baby Harry. Harry won't stop crying for anything! He finds a list that Lily has written on what to do if Harry's crying. But will it be enough? This story is based on true events.


Sirius and Baby Harry

Baby Harry was just coming on 10 months old. His mum and dad loved him dearly. Lily, Harry's 20 year old mum, stayed with him during the day while his dad, James, was away working as an auror. Lily was nervous each day that James left. He could easily be killed or have terminal damage done, as so many aurors had had done to them. But James was a very skilled wizard and if something did happen to him, his friends would help Lily out… friends like Sirius Black.

Sirius was Harry's godfather, and eh was very proud to be so. He was single and had no children of his own. He loved Harry dearly and liked to spend time with him. James and Lily did not like going somewhere and leaving Harry because he would cry and they'd feel guilty. They left him as little as possible, but sometimes going away could not be helped… especially on nights like tonight.

The Potters had been invited to a meeting of international aurors. Of course they had to go and obviously, Harry could not. So at 5:00 p.m. sharp, Sirius showed up at the Potters house, ready to take whatever little Harry could dish out. He rang the doorbell. Not even a minute passed before Lily, with Harry in her arms, opened the door.

"Hi Sirius!" she exclaimed.

He stepped inside and she gave him a hug.

"Hey Lily," he said. "How's everything here?"

"We're doing ok," she replied. "Hey, who's that Harry? Huh? Who is that? Is it you goddaddy? Yeah! That's Sirius, isn't it biggie boy?"

Harry stared at Sirius, then he buried his face in his mummy's shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Lily giggled. "Come on Harry, you know who that is!"

"Hey buddy," Sirius said, rubbing Harry's tiny back. "What 'cha doing? Aw, don't you remember me?"

Harry grasped the collar of his mother's robes tightly in one small fist. He whimpered.

"You stop that," Lily scolded gently, bouncing him up and down. "I know you didn't forget who Sirius is!" Then, turning her attention to Sirius, she said, "I don't know what's up with him! He's been such a stinker lately."

Sirius grinned. "He probably knows what's coming. He's knows you're gonna leave him."

Lily gasped dramatically. "Is that it?" she asked Harry. "Do you what's up?" She tickled his tummy, then turned her attention back to Sirius. "Come on, I think James is in the kitchen.

They walked down a hallway and turned left. Sure enough, James was magickng some dirty dishes into the sink. He turned and his face lit up.

"Padfoot!"

"Hey mate," Sirius exclaimed.

They hugged briefly and James said, "So, do you think you're ready to handle Harry alone?"

"Sure, he's no problem," Sirius replied, more confident then he should've been. "He's such a good boy, he won't be any trouble."

"If you say so," James shrugged.

"What's that supposed to mean?'

"Well, he can be a handful. He tends to be difficult when we leave," James explained. "He _shouldn't_ be a problem, but you know how things are."

Sirius didn't "know how things are" but he agreed with James anyway. All was silent for a second, then suddenly, Harry exclaimed "Dada!"

"What?" James laughed. "What d'you want, huh? Come here little mate."

He carefully took Harry from Lily's arms and gave him a big kiss. Harry laughed.

"Well, what is it?" James persisted. "Are you just being a nuisance? Trying to annoy your poor old daddy?"

He was tickling Harry all over. Harry squealed and laughed harder.

"Oh, I know, you're showing off," James decided, beaming down t his son. "Yeah, you're just showing off for Sirius. You're like 'hey look at me goddaddy, I can't talk!' Is that what you're up to? Eh?"

"Merlin's beard" Lily gasped. "James, we need to go!"

"Oh, dang, you're right. We've gotta go Harry. Yes. Mummy and daddy need to go bye-bye, "He informed Harry. "Sirius, do you have your mirror?"

Sirius nodded. He and James had come up with their mirror system when they had been at Hogwarts. It was their means of instant communication… their own version of cell phones.

"Good. Now, you be careful with my son," James told him. "Harry, don't you let him party to hard. We'll be back soon, don't worry." He put Harry in Sirius's arms.

With more good-byes and kissie for their baby, Lily and James left for their meeting leaving Sirius alone with a rather confused Harry.

"Mama? Dada?" He squeaked. He looked up at Sirius and burst into tears.

"Aw, it's alright mate," Sirius soothed. "Shh. They'll be back. Yeah, sure they will! It's fine Harry, come on."

Sirius took Harry into the living room and tried to comfort him. Half an hour passed and nothing seemed to do any good.

"Goodness big boy, I dunno what to do for you," Sirius sighed. "Ok, guess what? I'm going to look at the different papers mummy left on the counter. That might help both of us, cause I doubt you actually fancy crying. Wanna go with me? I guess you need to, huh? I wouldn't leave you even if I could! Nah, you're too upset and that makes me sad too. Alright then buster, let's go."

He carried Harry back into the kitchen. He searched through the papers and finally found what he was looking for. It was a note in Lily's handwriting (though James had made a few notes on it too) that said:

If Harry's crying:

!. Comfort him. Hold him really close and tight. Also try wrapping him in his blue quilt… it should be in his crib. You can try singing too. He doesn't care what you sound like… James sings to him all the time! Real funny Lils. You're a riot.

Sirius snickered.

"Let's try this then," he said to Harry. "We'll go get you blankie and do some heavy duty cuddling!"

He took Harry upstairs to his nursery. Sure enough, there was a little blue quilt in his crib. Sirius picked it up and stuffed it between himself and Harry. He spotted something in the corner of it. When he looked closer, he realized it was a sewn on patch of a deer. He smiled.

"Is that dada Harry?" He asked. "Yeah, that is dada. He's an animagus. So am I and Remus and Peter. We're the marauders. Your daddy is Prongs. Peter is Wormtail and he's a rat. Remus is Mooney and he's a werewolf… but you shouldn't be afraid of him. He's a real sweet guy. And me, I'm Padfoot and I'm a doggy… and I can see tat you really don't care."

Harry was still sobbing, but at least he had stopped screaming. Sirius took him back downstairs and sat on the couch. He wrapped the quilt around Harry and held him close. He tried exactly what Lily had suggested… even the singing. After another half an hour, he decided this wasn't working and went to look at the list again.

2. Keep Harry wrapped in the blanket and feed him his bottle. Warm it, but make sure you test it before feeding him so he doesn't get burned.

So, Sirius found one of Harry's bottles in the fridge. He made sure it was warm, but not too hot. He went back to the living room with Harry and the bottle. He held Harry close and put the bottle up to Harry's lips. Harry pushed it away. Sirius tried again. But Harry turned his head away.

"Come on mate," Sirius groaned. "I made it just for you. You know you want it."

Harry kept crying.

"Pleeeease?" Sirius begged. "This'll make you feel better. "It'll remind you of mummy."

Sirius thought about this last sentence. He shuddered and tried to push that thought from his mind.

"Come on," Sirius urged.

He tried twice more and it finally worked. Harry lay in Sirius's arms, peacefully sucking on his bottle. Sirius breathed a sigh of relief. It was finally quiet! He talked to Harry in a soft soothing voice. Both of them were quite comfortable… until Harry's bottle was empty. Sirius lifted Harry to burp him and he began to cry again.

"You know I think you're doing this on purpose," Sirius told him. "You're just trying to get me to call your mum and dad back early. Well I won't. You can't make me. I'm not going to let them think I can't handle you, so you stop it right now. I'm not going to give in."

Harry seemed to cry harder, as if he felt insulted. He had his little fingers in his mouth and slobber was running down past his wrist.

:Shhh, Harry, I was only joking, "Sirius apologized. "It's alright. Wow, you're a drool machine aren't you? Yes you are you little slobber monster."

He laughed and wiped Harry's slobbery hand with a nearby tissue.

"This isn't working," he sighed to himself. "Shall we go take a look at number three on the list?"

Once again, Sirius made the trek to the kitchen counter, but his time, he decided to put the list in his pocket.

3. Change Harry's diaper, even if it's dry. You can also try changing his clothes.

"I think I can handle that, "Sirius smiled down at Harry.

Harry paid no attention. He'd buried his face in the blanket that was still wrapped around him, but Sirius could still hear him crying.

He walked quickly upstairs to the nursery again where Harry's changing table was. He carefully laid Harry down on it and took off Harry's tiny pants and diaper. It was a tad bit wet. Could this be the problem? It would, of course, be a nuisance to any boy…

Sirius got a fresh diaper out. He wiped Harry off and put powder on him. Now for some clean clothes.

"Stay right there mate," Sirius instructed.

He turned his back and went over to a chest of drawers, grabbed the first outfit he saw. He quickly brought it back to Harry who had been very obedient in staying (not that he really had a choice). He dressed Harry.

The outfit was light blue. The shirt had a golden snitch on the front, as well as the words 'Seeker in training'. Sirius grinned.

"Are you going to be a Seeker?" He asked. "Will my godson be a Seeker? I bet you will! Maybe you could be better then dada. What d'you think about that?"

Harry kept whimpering. Sirius put the pants on Harry, then picked him up again. He sat down in a rocking chair and began rocking, trying to console poor Harry. After 15 minutes, Sirius decided this wasn't helping He consulted the list.

4. Bathe Harry in warm water. Give him bubbles in it if he doesn't have a diaper rash… he loves bubbles! Yeah, so does dada!

Sirius laughed at the thought of James playing in a bubble bath.

"This has got to work," he told Harry. "I've only got five options left after this. We've got to make something work. Come on then, we'll strip you down again."

He took Harry to the bathroom where a baby tub had been magicked into the counter. Sirius thought this was a very clever idea. He began to water in the tub and then he warmed it by magic. He undressed Harry and tested the water. That should feel wonderful!

"Don't you dare decided that it'll be funny to take a pee," Sirius laughed. "That'll be the end of _you_ buster!"

It didn't look as though Harry would think anything was funny. He did however seem mildly amused by the bubbles, though he kept crying quietly. Sirius accio'd a rubber duckie to keep Harry company. Sirius tried to play with Harry until he decided the water was too cool for comfort. He took Harry out and dried him in a wooly towel. The poor thing was still carrying on.

"There we go, all clean!" Sirius exclaimed. Look at you handsome! Yeah, you're so good lookin' and you smell so nice!"

Harry kept sniffling.

"Dang, you're one tough cookie," Sirius said. But I'm going to make you better one way or another. Ok, let's go get some clothes on you… oh! I just remembered something! I've got an ickle present for you."

He accio'd a small package into the room and help Harry unwrap it. Inside it was fuzzy red footie pajamas. On the front, there was a black puppy and a fawn playing in the grass and word that said 'best friends'.

"Isn't that sweet?" Sirius asked Harry. "Course, I think your mum and dad will like it more then you do. You don't really care what you wear, do ya?" No, I don't think so."

He put a diaper back on Harry and then he put the footie pj's on him. Needless to say, this didn't help Harry's crying.

"At least it made you quieter," Sirius mumbled.

H checked the list again.

5. Give Harry one or two magical creature cookies. They're in a tan jar by the sink.

"Oooo, do you want a cookie big guy?" Sirius asked. "Of course you do… and I want one too! Let's get goin'."

He took Harry downstairs again and found the jar that Lily had indicated. He took two cookies out for Harry and two for himself. Sirius broke Harry's cookie so that he could eat it easily. Harry did eat it, but very reluctantly. He didn't want the second one, so Sirius ate it. This was a complete loss so Sirius checked the list again.

6. Put on a movie. He really like the muggle show Puff The Magic Dragon. Our videos are in a cabinet by the TV.

Sirius was glad that he'd paid attention to at least one class in school… muggle studies. He would've been terribly confused if he hadn't. Words like movie, TV, and video were foreign to pureblooded wizards.

"You like this Puff, eh?" Sirius smiled. "Ok, let's see if I can work you TV without breaking it."

He took the sniffling Harry to the living room. He found the Puff movies and put one in the VCR. Then he went back to the couch and got the remote. He sighed deeply.

"How does this work Harry? Hmmm, ah! Power button!"

He pushed it and the TV turned on. The video was in the VCR but now he needed to make it play. He looked at all the little buttons o the remote. Was there some sort of password he needed to punch in with the little numbers? He began to randomly push buttons. Finally, a big green and yellow dragon came onto the screen.

Of course, Sirius thought. It's the one labeled 'play'. How could I be so stupid?

Harry quieted down a little more, but tears kept running down his cheeks. The movie was only half an hour. Sirius snickered through the whole thing. Only a muggle would make something like this! Who decided to make a dragon look like that? They were supposed to spit fire and glare through beady black eyes. But this one sang and had big googley eyes! And furthermore, they wouldn't hang out with little kids… they'd probably bite their heads off! Where was Hanalei anyway? There was no such place… even in the wizarding world. Yes sir, only a muggle would make a movie like this.

Sirius didn't like it, but if it kept Harry quieter it might be worth it. When it was over, Sirius put in another one, but halfway through it, Harry began to get loud again. Sirius turned it off since Harry wasn't paying attention to it anymore.

"I wish you could talk better," he told Harry. "Then you could tell me what's wrong." He checked the list.

7. Put Harry in his crib and leave him alone.

"Aw, do you just want to be left alone? Is that it? Alright, let's go to beddy-by."

Sirius carried Harry upstairs again. He turned on some soft music and a night light. He gave Harry a kiss on his wet cheek.

"Good night," he crooned. "I really hope you feel better in the morning."

He gently placed Harry in the crib and went to the door, turning the light out. He had barely gotten out the door when Harry started screaming.

Sirius turned around, turned the lights back on and went to Harry's crib. He picked him up and held him close.

"It's ok big boy," Sirius soothed, rubbing/patting Harry's back. "You're alright Harry. Yeah buddy, you're alright. Goddaddy's got you, you're fine."

Harry looked up at Sirius with his bright green eyes. His mum's eyes. He looked Sirius right in the eye. It took Sirius by surprise.

"Dada?" Harry seemed confused.

He knew his real dada had glasses and messy hair. James also had a different scent… a scent only babies can smell.

Sirius felt very unworthy to be called dada. He could never measure up to James. "No, I'm goddada," Sirius said. Then he sighed. "I know you don't understand. You probably won't until you're a bit older, but I guess you do have two dadas."

"Dada," Harry whimpered again. He buried his face in Sirius's shoulder and kept crying quietly.

"I feel so bad for you, Sirius groaned. "I wish I knew what was wrong. He took the list out.

8. Feed Harry anther bottle and check his diaper again.

Since they were in the nursery, Sirius decided to do the diaper first. He undid the footie pj's and checked Harry's diaper.

"Nope, you're clean!" Sirius exclaimed. "Good boy."

He put Harry's clothes back together. They went back downstairs and Sirius got some more milk warmed up for Harry. They went back to the living room and Sirius wrapped Harry back up in the blanket and fed him. Again, he was quiet until the milk was gone. Harry, needless to say, began to whimper again.

Sirius sighed miserably. Sure, he _could_ use Silenco, but that was seemed very cruel. There had to be some way to get him to shut up. There was only one last option on the list. If that failed, he'd be forced to contact James and Lily. They weren't scheduled to be home for another hour and a half!

9. Take my pillow off my bed (or mine) and let Harry lay on it. You can try rubbing the top part of his back.

Sirius didn't want to actually go into James and Lily's room to get Lily's pillow. It just felt like he'd been intruding on something private. So, he accio'd Lily's pillow downstairs. When it arrived it hit him in the face. It smelled like Lily… which was a good thing. Harry would definitely like this.

He put the pillow on his lap then he put Harry on the pillow, stomach down. He turned on the Puff movie again and rubbed Harry's back. Harry was much calmer now, but he was still sniffling to himself. After one movie was over, Sirius put in another one. When that was done, and Harry was still upset, Sirius decided to contact James. He took his mirror out of his pocket.

"James Potter. Prongs," he said into it.

In a few seconds, James appeared.

"Hey mate, what's up?" James asked.

"Keep it down, "Sirius told him softly. "Look, Harry's been crying since you guys left. He's not as bad as he was to start off with, but I think something's wrong with him."

"Really? That's weird cause Lily does to," James informed. "All night she's been saying 'oh there's something wrong, I just know it!' It's that mummy's instinct."

Sirius grinned. "Yeah, that's nice. But I did everything on the list! What now?"

"_Every_thing?" James gasped

Sirius nodded.

"Bloodyhell," James mused. "Most babysitters would've quit on us way before now. Thanks for sticking around! Hey, do you think you can hold down the fort for another half an hour? We're almost done."

"I think so," Sirius replied.

"Good," James smiled. "Can I se him?"

Sirius turned the mirror so that James could see his little boy. When he turned it back, James said, "Don't worry. We'll be back as soon as we can."

"Alright. Thanks Prongs," Sirius said.

"See you Padfoot." He left.

Sirius stowed his mirror back in his pocket. "Did you hear that?" He asked Harry. "You only have to put up with me for 30 more minutes."

So, with another Puff movie, they made it until Lily and James came back home.

"Look whose back!" Sirius exclaimed when they apparated in.

"Aw, come here Harry," Lily crooned as Harry reached out for her. "That's my biggie boy!" She kissed. "Oh my gosh."

"What?" James and Sirius asked in unison.

"He's so hot. I think he's got a fever," Lily replied. "See James, I knew there was something up with him." She took Harry's temperature with her wand.

"I'm so sorry," Sirius apologized.

"For what?" Lily laughed. "Sirius, he's taken being ill this well!"

"Huh?"

"The last four times he's been sick, we've had to give him a sleeping potion," James said. "He wouldn't stop screaming. I am _very_ impressed."

"Me too," Lily said. "How can we ever thank you?"

"Never bring me within a mile of those bloody Puff movies!" Sirius exclaimed.

They all laughed. Then Sirius asked, "Do you want me to help clean up?"

"No, you've done more then enough," James answered.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it," Sirius grinned.

"Hey," Lily said. "Where'd these pj's come from?" She was indicating Harry's new footie pajamas.

"Dada," Harry said.

"From goddaddy? Oooo, you must be special!" Lily beamed.

"He is," Sirius said.

"Look James, aren't they sweet?"

James laughed and said, "Yeah! They're brilliant mate, I love it!"

"Thanks," Sirius smiled. "Alright, well, I've got to get going now. I'll see you all later…"

"Sirius, wait! Harry has something to show you!" Lily told him. "Harry, blow kisses to Sirius. "Alright, big guy, you can do it! Blow kisses! Come on Harry, blow kisses!"

It took a few seconds, but Harry finally blew kisses to Sirius. Sirius blew some back to Harry, beaming.

"Oh, do you have the list?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, here," he replied giving it back to her.

The best part of the night, besides Harry calling Sirius dada and blowing kisses to him, was when Lily put number ten on the list.

10. If none of the above ideas work, Harry is sick. Call Sirius Black.


End file.
